Photo:(C)AFLO SPORT/bj-league
In November 2005, the very first Japanese professional basketball league, the bj-league, opened its inaugural season. Six teams, the Sendai 89ERS, Niigata Albirex BB, Saitama Broncos, Tokyo Apache, Osaka Evessa, and Oita Heatdevils, participated in a 120-game regular season, and the Osaka Evessa became the first champions of the opening season.
In the following season, the bj-league was joined by two new teams, the Toyama Grouses and Takamatsu Fivearrows. In the end, the Osaka Evessa won the back-to-back championship. In the third season, the bj-league welcomed two more expansion teams, the Rizing Fukuoka and Ryukyu Golden Kings, but despite of the increasing teams in numbers, the Osaka Evessa completed the three-peat, winning three championships in a row.
The forth season was a turning point for the bj-league. It added another two more expansion teams, the Hamamatsu-Higashimikawa Phoenix and Shiga Lakestars, and a total of 12 teams played 300 plus regular season games in all over Japan. And the second year Ryukyu Golden Kings closed the season by winning their first ever championship.
The bj-league has opened its fifth regular season in October 2009 with another newly added team, the Kyoto Hannaryz, as the 13th team.
Read English news about the bj-league in The Japan Times. Visit the link for up-to-date coverage;
-The number of players whom one team can sign is no more than 15, regardless of their nationalities.
-No more than three (3) non-Asian players can enter the game at the same time.
-No more than four (4) non-Japanese players can enter the game at the same time.
Consequently, at least one player with Japanese nationality must stay on the court during the game.
During the 2009-2010 regular season, each team plays 52 games in total(26 games at home&away each). The bj-league 2009-2010 season began on October 3, 2009.
The bj-League Playoffs begin in May, with four teams in each conference qualifying. Each conference's top four seeds are determined by regular season record. In each of the Conference Semi-Finals, the first seed plays fourth seed, and second seed plays third seed. Two games are played at the better seed's home court (*1) The winner will advance to "The Final 4." (*2)
*1: When the Conference Semi-Final series is split, the decisive third game will be played after the end of the second game. Rules and other details are to be announced.
*2: "The Final 4" will be held at one location, and all games are played in the same arena one after another by single-elimination format. More details are to be announced.
The 2009-2010 All Star Game is scheduled on January 31, 2010 in Sendai. Ten players from each conference are selected.
[ Open Tryouts ]
The bj-league is open for anybody who wants to play professional basketball in Japan. You can contact with any bj-league team through your agent or by yourself, and seek for a position in their roster. If your final academic background comes from a Japanese school in Japan, you become eligible for draft entry. However, even if you graduated from Japanese school in Japan, you must participate in bj-league's tryouts in order to enter draft which is held in early summer.
[ Draft Conference ]
Draft Conference is held in early summer in Tokyo.
4-10-1 shiba minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0014
Phone: +81-3-3798-8881
Fax: +81-3-3798-8887
E-mail: bjinquiry@bj-league.com
March 24th, 2005
Hiromu Ikeda, Chairman & CEO
Toshimitsu Kawachi, Commissioner & Representative Director
Hidemitsu Nakano, President & COO
Tatsuya Abe, Board Director
Ikuo Kimura
Teruhide Osawa
Koichi Sato
Hidetaka Anabuki
Yuji Yamashita
Vince Rawl
Nobutaka Yoshii
